Process for fixing an article to a substrate

ABSTRACT

A process for fixing an article to a substrate with a mounting set including two receptacles storing an aerobic adhesive and a hydrophilic substance, respectively. The aerobic adhesive and the hydrophilic substance are removed from the two receptacles and then mixed together to prepare the fastening. A layer of the fastening composition is applied to the article. The article is fixed to the substrate by pressing the layer of the fastening composition against the substrate. The aerobic adhesive in the layer hardens because of the moisture contained in the hydrophilic substance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patentapplication ser. No. 13/000,739, filed Jan. 4, 2011, the content ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference, and which is a U.S. NationalStage of International Application No. PCT/EP2009/001623 filed Mar. 6,2009, designating the United States, and claiming priority from SwissApplication No. 991/08, filed on Jun. 27, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a fastening composition and a process forfixing an article to a substrate.

A specific area of application for the process in question, respectivelythe fastening composition in question, is for attaching articles to thewalls of buildings and the like. In particular in bathroom and kitchenareas, the walls are provided with coverings such as different types oftiles, as well as stone slabs or marble slabs. The process, however,relates in general to the most varied areas of application, such as thefield of aircraft construction, ship construction and steelconstruction.

Fastening means in the form of screws, in particular, can be used in amanner known per se to attach equipment items such as pieces offurniture, light fixtures and sanitary equipment fixtures such as towelholders or the like. Bore holes must first be inserted into the wallsfor this, however, wherein dowels are then inserted into these boreholes. These bore holes are generally worked into the joints between thetiles to prevent damage to the expensive wall coverings consisting oftiles and the like, thereby undesirably limiting the locations forinstalling the fastening means. In cases where the fastening locationfor an equipment item must be changed again after some time, it is afurther disadvantage that the bore holes are visibly exposed at the oldlocation, thus considerably detracting from the total optical impressionof the wall, even if the bore holes are subsequently filled with afiller material.

To avoid these disadvantages, attempts have been made to replacefastening means in the form of screws by using adhesive materials.

In the simplest case, adhesive strips can be used for this, wherein adouble-sided adhesive tape is used for the simplest case. Onedisadvantage encountered with fastening means of this type is that theywill detach again over time. A further disadvantage is that no heavyequipment pieces can be attached to the walls with these adhesivestrips.

Also conceivable in principle is the use of aerobic adhesives asfastening compositions for attaching articles to substrates, such as tothe walls of a room in a building. One problem with this type of use isthat said aerobic adhesives must harden for several hours and thatmoisture must be supplied to the aerobic adhesives. However, if a layerof aerobic adhesive is applied to the article and the article is thenpressed together with the layer of aerobic adhesive against thesubstrate, the layer which is located between the substrate and thearticle is closed off from the ambient air, so that a hardening of theaerobic adhesive is no longer possible.

A mounting system which permits the use of aerobic adhesives of thistype is known from the document WO 03/036106.

This mounting system is used for the stationary attachment of items suchas towel holders, shelves, light fixtures or similar equipment pieces ona wall, a ceiling or a similar surface, in particular in rooms where thewalls are covered with tiles, marble slabs or similar coverings. Themounting system consists of different types of fastening elements, aswell as an adhesive and joining agent which can be an aerobic adhesive.The fastening elements consist of sintered metals for which the shapemust be adapted in dependence on the application purpose. These types ofsystems have the disadvantage of very long hardening times for theadhesive which can take up to 12 hours, thereby considerably reducingthe ease of installation of these systems.

The fastening element is designed to accommodate a different element forholding in place the item and comprises a basic body, provided with arecess on the back that is facing the wall, as well as a filling openingwhich empties into the latter and is used to insert an adhesive orjoining agent between the fastening element and the wall.

To allow air displaced by the adhesive or joining agent inserted intothe recess to escape, the fastening element is provided with at leastone liquid-permeable or gas-permeable opening which extends from therecess to a different surface of the fastening element and which canaccommodate the surplus adhesive or joining agent.

The basic body back which is facing the wall is permeable to liquid andgas, at least in some parts, such that the gas which develops inside therecess during the hardening of the adhesive and joining agent canescape, respectively the volatile binding agents can vaporize, andambient air can simultaneously reach this adhesive and joining agent,thereby causing this agent to harden and ensure a stable, load-bearingattachment of the fastening means on the wall.

The disadvantage of this type of embodiment of the basic body is that itrequires considerable additional structural expenditure and, inparticular, also limits the free design of the fastening means.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stable, flexiblyusable fastening for joining two articles, without requiring anystructural interventions in the articles themselves.

The fastening composition according to the invention consists of amixture of an aerobic adhesive and a hydrophilic substance.

The basic idea of the invention is that by adding the hydrophilicsubstance to the aerobic adhesive, a fastening composition mixture iscreated which no longer requires that the surface must be brought intocontact with moist ambient air to allow the hardening process to startfrom this surface. Rather, the hydrophilic substance contained in themixture, which intermingles with the aerobic adhesive, ensures that theaerobic adhesive contained in the mixture can also harden from theinside out, even if there is no longer any external contact with themoisture-containing ambient air. The moisture, respectively the oxygen,required for the hardening process can be found in the hydrophilicsubstance itself because the hydrophilic properties of this substanceensure that there is a sufficient amount of moisture for hardening theaerobic adhesive in the mixture which forms the fastening composition.

Since the hydrophilic substances release moisture to the environment oralso absorb moisture from the environment, depending on theenvironmental conditions, the moisture content of the hydrophilicsubstance may not be high enough, depending on the use, to ensure acomplete hardening of the mixture following the mixing with the aerobicadhesive.

High importance must be accorded, however, to the moisture content inthe hydrophilic substance, respectively in the mixture containing thehydrophilic substance and the aerobic adhesive. Too much moisturedestroys the adhesive bond while too little moisture does not result ina reaction in the aerobic adhesive that is composed in particular ofpolymers, thereby preventing a hardening.

To obtain the appropriate degree of moisture in the fasteningcomposition according to the invention, moisture is supplied in ameasured quantity to the mixture composed of aerobic adhesive andhydrophilic substance. It is particularly advantageous if a measuredquantity of moisture is added to the hydrophilic substance before it ismixed with the aerobic adhesive.

Particularly suitable for adding a measured quantity of liquid is awooden spatula which is used for mixing the components and is firstsubmerged in water or generally into an amount of liquid. The amount ofwater or generally the amount of liquid which can be absorbed by thespatula represents a measured quantity of liquid that is supplied to themixture of aerobic adhesive and hydrophilic substance. In that case, thehydrophilic substance can act as moisture buffer which can absorb excessmoisture and, if necessary, can release it again. As a result of themixing operation, the moisture is distributed throughout the totalvolume of the mixture, thus permitting a complete hardening of themixture. Alternative to a spatula, other devices can be used formeasuring in a quantity of liquid. In principle, encapsulated elementsthat contain liquid can also be used. These elements burst during themixing operation and release the liquid to the mixture. The tensile andshearing resistances of the fastening composition according to theinvention can be improved by adding the encapsulated elements as well asthrough the admixture of the hydrophilic substance. In principle,storage granules can also be mixed into the hydrophilic substance forsupplying the moisture.

As a result of mixing in the hydrophilic substances, the materialhardens considerably faster than is the case with other processes.

Articles can thus be attached with the fastening composition accordingto the invention, simply by inserting a layer of the fasteningcomposition between the two articles.

The layer of fastening composition can be inserted into optionalrecesses or openings in the articles and, once the articles are joined,can be in a completely enclosed area, meaning an inside area that isdelimited by diffusion-impermeable surfaces and is insulated from theambient air, wherein this nevertheless results in a secure hardening ofthe aerobic adhesive and thus a load-bearing connection between articlesthat can withstand high forces. The fastening composition canfurthermore also be applied to flat surfaces. In that case, thefastening composition according to the invention can be used between twodiffusion-impermeable surfaces to join these.

For a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the aerobicadhesive is composed of modified silane (MS) polymers.

The hydrophilic substances can in principle be salts. Particularlyadvantageous is the use of hydrophilic substances in the form ofhydrophilic carrier fibers which can be natural fibers or syntheticfibers and are preferably made of cotton. Suitable hydrophilicsubstances basically are: chalk, flour, expanded clay, galactose, cottonwool, flax, hemp, viscose, cellulose, sea grass, felt or also woodfibers, air-pore filters or in general all actively breathing materials.

One essential advantage of the fastening composition according to theinvention is that a precise mixing ratio of aerobic adhesive tohydrophilic substance need not be maintained to ensure the function ofthe fastening composition according to the invention. To ensure the bestpossible hardening of the aerobic adhesive, it is simply advantageous ifthe hydrophilic substance is mixed as homogeneously as possible with theaerobic adhesive.

It is furthermore essential for the use of the fastening compositionthat the components of the fastening composition are mixed together justprior to the use of the fastening composition.

It is useful in that case to provide a mounting set which comprises tworeceptacles for the separate storage of the aerobic adhesive and thehydrophilic substance, in particular for the hydrophilic carrier fiber.The individual components can then be removed in the desired amountsfrom these receptacles for mixing together the fastening composition.

The fastening composition consisting of the individual components canfurthermore be mixed together quickly and easily even by untrainedpersonnel because no precise ratios are required for mixing together theaerobic adhesive and the hydrophilic substance.

A further advantage of the fastening composition according to theinvention is that it can be used to create a reversible connectionbetween two articles. This is based on the fact that the connectioncreated with the fastening composition between the articles is extremelyresistant to tensile forces, but is less resistant to shearing forces.Thus, by turning an article during the removal, the connection createdwith the fastening composition can be severed once more. The joininglocations can subsequently be cleaned by using a spatula or the like forremoving residual fastening composition material.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a process for fixing anarticle to a substrate with a mounting set comprising two receptaclesstoring an aerobic adhesive and a hydrophilic substance, respectively,the process comprising: removing the aerobic adhesive and thehydrophilic substance from the two receptacles; mixing together thehydrophilic substance and the aerobic adhesive to prepare the fastening;applying a layer of the fastening composition to the article; andpressing the layer of the fastening composition against the substrate tofix the article to the substrate, wherein the aerobic adhesive in thelayer hardens because of the moisture contained in the hydrophilicsubstance.

It is particularly advantageous if a measured amount of liquid is addedto the hydrophilic substance prior to mixing together the aerobicadhesive and the hydrophilic substance.

It is a particular advantageously if the substrate is a wall and thearticle is a fastening element to which an equipment item is attached.

The equipment item in this case is attached to the fastening elementonce the layer of fastening composition between the wall and thefastening element has hardened. However, equipment items can generallyalso be attached directly to the wall with the aid of the fasteningcomposition.

According to the invention, the fastening means or element can beattached to the wall without the use of screws and the like, so that nobore holes must be worked into the wall.

As a result, these fastening means can be attached without damaging orimpairing the wall.

This type of attachment is particularly advantageous if the wall has acovering consisting of tiles, ceramic tiles or stone slabs or marbleslabs to which the fastening element is attached.

Consequently, there is no danger during the fastening process ofdamaging or impairing the sensitive and typically expensive wallcovering.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in the following with the aid of thedrawings, which show in:

FIG. 1: A schematic representation of a mounting set comprising thecomponents for the fastening composition according to the invention;

FIG. 2: The fastening composition mixed together inside a container;

FIG. 3 The fixing of an article to a wall with the aid of the fasteningcomposition according to FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 schematically shows a mounting set 1 with the individualcomponents for producing a fastening composition 2, shown in themixed-together state in FIG. 2.

The mounting set 1 comprises a tube 3 which contains an aerobic adhesive4. The aerobic adhesive 4 in the present case is composed of modifiedsilane (MS) polymers. The mounting set 1 furthermore comprises an amountof hydrophilic substances which in the present case are hydrophiliccarrier fibers 5 that are stored inside a bag 6 or the like. In thepresent case, non-dried cotton is used for the hydrophilic carrier fiber5. The mounting set 1 is completed by a spatula 7 and, if applicable,also contains operating instructions which are not shown herein.

The fastening composition 2 is produced by mixing together thecomponents just before it is used for attaching articles, namely bymixing together the aerobic adhesive 4 and the hydrophilic carrier fiber5. The aerobic adhesive 4 and the hydrophilic carrier fibers 5 areplaced for this into a container 8 or a similar container, as shown inFIG. 2, and are then mixed homogeneously with the aid of the spatula 7.

The spatula 7 is preferably made of wood. The spatula 7 is firstsubmerged in water to obtain a moisture content that is suitable for thecomplete hardening of the mixture. The moisture absorbed by the spatula7 is then transferred to the hydrophilic substance, whereupon thissubstance is mixed with the aerobic adhesive 4, using the spatula 7.

The volume share of hydrophilic carrier fibers 5 in the mixturepreferably amounts to approximately 30 to 40%, wherein the weightpercentage of the hydrophilic carrier fiber 5 in the mixture is in theorder of magnitude of 10%.

Immediately after mixing together the components for the fasteningcomposition 2, this composition is used to join two articles.

One exemplary embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows asegment of a building wall 9, in particular of a room in a house whichis provided with a wall covering 10 in the form of tiles.

This wall covering 10 on the wall 9 is to be provided with a fasteningelement 11 on which subsequently a piece of equipment is to be mounted,in particular a sanitary equipment item such as a towel holder, a shelf,a shower set or the like, wherein several such fastening elements 11 cangenerally also be provided for attaching an equipment item.

FIG. 3 schematically shows one component of the equipment in the form ofa locking element 12 which can be fixed to the fastening element 11.

The fastening element 11 has an essentially circular-disk shapedoutline. The underside facing the wall 9 is provided with a recess 13which is delimited by an edge segment 14 that extends along the completecircumference of the fastening element 11.

With the fastening element 11 removed from the wall 9, for example, thefreshly mixed fastening composition 2 that is shown in FIG. 2 is filledinto the recess 13 on the fastening element 11 by using the spatula 7,thereby resulting in the forming of a defined, moldable layer for thefastening composition 2.

The fastening composition 2 is then fitted with the layer of thefastening element 11 onto the wall covering 10 of the wall 9. Owing tothe fact that the aerobic adhesive 4 in the fastening composition 2immediately has a certain adhesive force, the fastening element 11,which has only a diameter of a few centimeters and has a low inherentweight, is held securely against the wall covering 10.

Bore holes extending in axial direction and ending in the recess 13 canbe provided in the fastening element 11, so as to prevent the fasteningcomposition 2 from escaping on the side from the fastening element 11while it is fitted against the wall covering 10. Excess fasteningcomposition 2 material can then flow into these bore holes while theelement is attached to the wall covering 10.

Even though the fastening composition 2 is contained in a completelyenclosed space, following the attachment of the fastening element 11 tothe wall covering 10, and does not come in contact with the ambient air,the aerobic adhesive 4 in the fastening composition 2 can hardencompletely from the inside because of the admixture of the hydrophiliccarrier fiber 5 because this hydrophilic carrier fiber 5 has stored themoisture, respectively the oxygen, required for the hardening.

A load-bearing attachment of the fastening element 11 to the wall 9 isobtained as soon as the fastening composition 2 has hardened, so thatthe equipment item can be attached to the element. In the present case,the locking element 12 is attached with the aid of a screw connection ora plug-in connection to the fastening element 11. The locking element 12comprises a holding element 16 to which the equipment article can beattached, e.g. a towel holder.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for fixing an article to a substratewith a mounting set comprising two receptacles storing an aerobicadhesive and a hydrophilic substance, respectively, the processcomprising: removing the aerobic adhesive and the hydrophilic substancefrom the two receptacles; mixing together the hydrophilic substance andthe aerobic adhesive to prepare the fastening; applying a layer of thefastening composition to the article; pressing the layer of thefastening composition against the substrate to fix the article to thesubstrate, wherein the aerobic adhesive in the layer hardens because ofthe moisture contained in the hydrophilic substance.
 2. The processaccording to claim 1, further comprising the step of adding a measuredquantity of moisture to the hydrophilic substance before the hydrophilicsubstance is mixed with the aerobic adhesive.
 3. The process accordingto claim 1, wherein the article comprises a mechanical fastening device.4. The process according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises awall and the article comprises a fastening element to which a piece ofequipment can be attached.
 5. The process according to claim 4, whereinthe wall includes a wall covering of tiles, ceramic tiles, stone slabsor marble slabs to which the fastening element is attached.
 6. Theprocess according to claim 5, further comprising attaching the piece ofequipment to the fastening element after the layer of the fasteningcomposition between the wall and the fastening element has hardened. 7.The process according to claim 4, wherein the piece of equipmentcomprises one of a light fixture, a piece of furniture or a sanitaryequipment item.
 8. The process according to claim 3, wherein themechanical fastening device comprises one of a pipe clip or an adaptor.